Street roller

ABSTRACT

A street roller for attachment to the plow frame of a highway vehicle by a transverse pin and lift chain. The roller is mounted on bearings and a two piece support frame, the two pieces being joined by a pivotal connection permitting the roller to follow the road contour.

[ Mar. 25, 11975 2 2/1955 C00per....... 180/20 X 1/1963 Martin 404/128 3 7/1966 M0reira...... 404/128 11/1969 Wyatt 180/20 3 10/1973 Waterman 404/122 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 183,125 10/1936 Switzerland......................... 404/122 Primary E.\'an1inerJames T. McCall Assistant ExanzinerTh0mas J. Holko Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Thomas N. Tarrunt, Esq.

1 ABSTRACT A street roller for attachment to tthe plow frame of a highway vehicle by a transverse pin and lift chain. The

Richard Dunham, RED. 2, Old Southbridge Rd., Dudley, Mass. 01570 Aug. 31, 1973 404/128 E0lc 19/26 404/85, 86, 122, 123, 125, 404/126, 128; 180/20; 172/212, 276

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Int. Cl. Field of Search UNlTED STATES PATENTS TJnitefi States Patent 1191 Dunham STREET ROLLER [76] Inventor:

[22] Filed:

STREET ROLLER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to street roller for attachment to a highway maintenance vehicle for rolling pavement patches or the like.

2. Relation of the Prior Art Highway maintenance crews in cities and towns, and sometimes even state road maintenance crews, in making small patches to rectify road defects or to fill in sections that have been open for access for underlying water mains, etc. frequently leave loose pavement material to be rolled haphazard by passing cars. Many of the maintenance vehicles carry manually operated rollers slung to the side of the vehicle for the purpose of rolling patches. These become quickly battered and are sufficiently difficult to secure and detach so that the maintenance crews do not use them conscientiously. Some crews use tamps which are slow and arduous. To facilitate rolling of these patches, many devices have been conceived for securing to the rear of a maintenance vehicle so that after a patch is laid, the roller may be dropped and the vehicle backed up over the patch to smooth it. These devices have been fairly expensive and a little awkward since the truck driver is unable to see what he is doing.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,386,025 to Wills, discloses a complex mounting frame for handling either a snowplow or a roller. The Wills mounting frame is expensive and the shifting between plow blade and roller is difficult and cumbersome. Almost all highway maintenance vehicles carry snowplow frames for hydraulically operated snowplows. However, rollers readily attachable to standard snowplow frames are not readily. available.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Now in accordance with the present invention a street roller assembly readily attachable and detachable from most standard snowplow frames is provided. This roller assembly is simply devised of a conventional barrel roller fillable with water, sand, or other weighty material. The barrel ismounted for rotation on bearings secured to a first member of structural metal bent into the shape of a U and carrying connectors for a chain or cable to be attached to the hydraulic lift mechanism of a plow frame. A second member of structural metal again formed in a U shape is connected backto-back with the first member by a single pivotal attaching means. Holes in the ends of the second member are arranged to align with holes in the lower mounting members of a snowplow frame and a pin or pins are provided for passing through the aligned holes and securing the assembly to the snowplow frame.

Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a novel street roller attachment for quick and easy adaptation to a hydraulic snowplow frame.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel economic street roller assembly consisting of three major components plus connections.

Further objects and features of the inventionwill become apparent upon reading the following description together with the drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an exploded view in perspective of the inventive roller assembly.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the roller of FIG. 1 assembled and connected to a snowplow frame on the front of a maintenance vehicle.

FIG. 3 depicts one form of connection for connecting the lifting chains for the street roller to the hydraulic lift mechanism of the snowplow frame viewed along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an alternative attachment arrangement to that depicted in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT:

A street roller according to the invention is made of three main components depicted in FIG. 1 as roller 10, first support member 11 and second support member 12. Roller is suitably a water roller with plug 14 for filling with and emptying water. This permits easier handling when the roller is dismounted from the vehicle. However, the roller may be filled with another liquid to avoid rust or for greater weight, or it may be loaded with concrete or any other material conventionally used to add mass to such rollers.

Axle 15 suitably passes through the roller and is secured solidly at each end by flanges 16. However, stub axle shafts may be used that do not pass through the roller but are only welded or bolted at each end. Bearings 17 and 18 for rotatably supporting axle 15 are depicted as self-aligning sleeve bearings. Permanently lubricating bearings of this type are readily available at low cost.

First support member 11 is made of a length of structural steel depicted as channel iron bent into a U shape with the legs of the U" slightly farther apart than the width of barrel 10. The legs of the U" terminate in flat ends 20 and 21 which are slotted with slots 22 and 24 to receive the ends of axle 15. Bearings 17 and 18 fit over the ends of axle 15 inside of ends 20 and 21. Bearings 17 and 18 are then mounted to ends 20 and 21 by bolts 25 to secure the roller in place. Tabs 26 and 27 are depicted welded to and rising vertically from the legs of support member 11. Shackles 28 and 30 connected through eyes in the top of tabs 26 and 27 provide connection means for lifting chains 31 and 32. Chains 31 and 32 are shown in broken form to indicate their length is greater than shown in the illustration. Support member 12 is made almost identical to support member 1 1 except that it has shorter legs since they do not have to encompass the radius of barrel 10. Ends 34 and 35 of the legs of member 12 are each drilled with single holes 36 and 37 instead of slots, the holes being ofa like size and arranged to mate with holes in the bottom support of a conventional snowplow frame. A single elongatedpin 38 is made of a size to pass through holes 36 and 37 and the aligned holes of a snowplow frame to connect support member 12 to a snowplow frame with free rotational movement in a vertical direction. Collars 40 and 41 are depicted for connection to opposite ends of pin 38 with set screws to hold pin 38 in place. It will be understood that these collars are only exemplary and many other means are available for holding such a pin in position. For example, one end of pin 38 could be headed with a permanent head while the other end could be drilled or grooved to take a cotter pin, bridge pin, or snap clip. Since spacing of the lower mounting points on various snowplow frames differs, collars such as 40 and 41 that may be set at different points along pin 38 may readily be utilized as adaptors to prevent support member 12 from drifting sideways. Support member 12 is assembled back-to-back with support member 11 by a pivot pin 42 centrally located to couple members 11 and 12 together. Pivot pin 42 is secured in place by use of a lock nut 44 and permits support member 11 to rotate around an axis aligned longitudally with a maintenance vehicle from which it is mounted.

FIG. 2 depicts in phantom front end 45 ofa highway maintenance vehicle carrying snowplow frame 46. Pivot pin 38 is depicted passing through the lower mounting points of the snowplow frame with collar 40 securing pin 38 in position. Chain 31 is shown connected between tab 26 and a connection to hydraulic actuator 47 of the snowplow frame. Chains 31 and 32 are used only to lift the roller off the road surface when not in use as similar chains are used on snowplows. Sometimes steel cables are used instead of the chains. The chains or cables are connected to the hydraulic actuator by various connection means. Generally speaking, the ones used on the snowplows are likewise readily usable on the roller.

Examples of the upper connector for the chains are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIG. 3 the loops in the ends of the chains are each looped in single hook 50. In FIG. 4, plate 51 adapted for connection to a hydraulic actuator at top end 52 carries two spaced holes 54 and 55 in its lower end large enough for the chain links to pass through. Each of the holes 54 and 55 has a small slot 56 and 57 in its bottom edge into which a link of the respective chain may be secured and permitting ready adjustment of the chain length.

In use the roller of the present invention can be readily connected to a conventional snowplow frame by bringing the maintenance vehicle into mounting position, raising support member 12 into alignment with the snowplow frame, sliding pin 38 into position and securing it. Chains 31 and 32 are then connected to hydraulic lifting device and the equipment is ready for use. Complete connection can usually be made in two or three minutes.

When the roller is to be transported for extended distances over rough roads in the raised position, some type of snubbing device or blocking against which the hydraulic lifter may constrainthe roller can be readily provided.

In use, when rolling fresh paving material as depicted by material 60 in FIG. 2, support member 11 has freedom of movement around two mutually perpendicular axes by virtue of pivot pin 42 and pin 38 whereby roller I to a specific embodiment, obvious variations are contemplated. For example, other types of bearings can be used, the support members 11 and 12 can be cast, stamped, or welded to provide a similar assembly rather than being forged or otherwise bent from channel iron. Chains 31 and 32 can also be connected to apertures cut or drilled in support member 11 or to eyebolts secured thereto rather than two tabs appended to the member.

Thus, it is intended to cover the invention within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A roller attachment for snowplow frames adapting a conventional snowplow frame mounted on the front of a road maintenance vehicle to accept a roller for packing and smoothing pavement patches and the like comprising:

a. a roller;

b. a first U-shaped frame in which thelegs of the U carry bearings at their ends rotatably supporting said roller;

c. a second U-shaped frame extending in a substantially common plane with said first U-shaped frame (connected) and adjacently coupled back-to-back with said first U-shaped frame by a pivot pin aligned perpendicular to the axis of said roller in said common plane, the legs of said second U- shaped frame having holes arranged to align with matching holes in the bottom support of a snowplow frame so as to receive an interlocking pin; (and,)

d. at least one interlocking pin for passing through the holes in said second U-shaped frame and said matching holes; and,

e. connectors mounted on the legs of said first U- shaped frame for connection of flexible lifting -means to a hydraulic lift device on said snowplow frame, all whereby said first U-shaped frame supporting said. roller has freedom of movement around two mutually perpendicular axes and may be raised and lowered hydraulically.

2. A roller attachment according to claim 1 wherein the leg ends of said first U-shaped frame contain slots open at one end for receiving axle ends of said roller and said bearings are directly secured to the ends of said first U-shaped frame in alignment with said slots by removable fasteners whereby upon removal of said fasteners said roller and said bearings may be separated from said first U-shaped frame.

3. A roller attachment according to claim 1 wherein said first U-shaped frame and said second U-shaped frame are bent from channel iron.

4. A roller attachment according to claim 1 wherein the entire frame of the attachment consists in said first and second U-shaped frames. 

1. A roller attachment for snowplow frames adapting a conventional snowplow frame mounted on the front of a road maintenance vehicle to accept a roller for packing and smoothing pavement patches and the like comprising: a. a roller; b. a first U-shaped frame in which the legs of the ''''U'''' carry bearings at their ends rotatably supporting said roller; c. a second U-shaped frame extending in a substantially common plane with said first U-shaped frame (connected) and adjacently coupled back-to-back with said first U-shaped frame by a pivot pin aligned perpendicular to the axis of said roller in said common plane, the legs of said second U-shaped frame having holes arranged to align with matching holes in the bottom support of a snowplow frame so as to receive an interlocking pin; (and,) d. at least one interlocking pin for passing through the holes in said second U-shaped frame and said matching holes; and, e. connectors mounted on the legs of said first U-shaped frame for connection of flexible lifting means to a hydraulic lift device on said snowplow frame, all whereby said first U-shaped fraMe supporting said roller has freedom of movement around two mutually perpendicular axes and may be raised and lowered hydraulically.
 2. A roller attachment according to claim 1 wherein the leg ends of said first U-shaped frame contain slots open at one end for receiving axle ends of said roller and said bearings are directly secured to the ends of said first U-shaped frame in alignment with said slots by removable fasteners whereby upon removal of said fasteners said roller and said bearings may be separated from said first U-shaped frame.
 3. A roller attachment according to claim 1 wherein said first U-shaped frame and said second U-shaped frame are bent from channel iron.
 4. A roller attachment according to claim 1 wherein the entire frame of the attachment consists in said first and second U-shaped frames. 